Graphene is approximately 200 times stronger than the strongest steel, extremely lightweight. Currently, there is no effective way to mass produce graphene, and the use of graphene has been confined the semi-conductor industry. While there is ongoing research into methods for mass-production of graphene, the cost of graphene for large scale projects and general use beyond the semi-conductor industry will remain high.
Graphene oxide is much more readily available than pure graphene. It can be formed into membranes for water and wastewater treatment, and has antimicrobial properties.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/671,043 (“the '043 Application”) teaches the use of a novel graphene oxide and chitosan composite to produce scalable and highly-durable water filters developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center's Environmental Laboratory.
The chitosan graphene oxide composite taught by the '043 Application has multiple applications. The costs of producing the compound includes both the cost of the graphene oxide acquired for the process and the production costs for creating the compound in the correct proportions.
Scientists at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers anticipate constructing large scale filters and other public works comprised of chitosan graphene oxide compound disclosed in the '043 Application.
There is an unmet need to minimize the cost associated with the use of graphene oxide by recycling graphene oxide products to create reclaimed materials that can be re-used for production or used in other compounds.